Pad Art
The use of a base or a pad for mounting various types of equipment is well known in the art. For example, air conditioning condensers, heating units, and electrical transformers are often mounted on a pad to insure that the unit remains stable, level, and off of the ground during operation. The use of an equipment pad is generally required under local and model building codes.
Equipment pads are often constructed from concrete. Because of the weight involved, these concrete pads are generally poured and smoothed at the construction site. Building concrete pads, however, can be a time consuming process and often requires heavy equipment and several laborers. Further, because the pads can only be poured when the weather permits, pad construction may delay an entire project.
Recent improvements in the art have focused on precast equipment pads and pads made from composite materials. Composite materials are perceived as concrete but are often preferred because the composite material is light-weight and can support the same or even greater loads than concrete. Further, while concrete equipment pads must be poured at the construction site, pads made from composite materials can be manufactured off-site, stored and stacked until needed, and then easily transported to the construction site. A composite material equipment pad can then be installed without heavy equipment and with little site preparation. As discussed below, a number of composite materials pads can be stacked and secured on to a transport pallet for transport to a warehouse or construction site.
An example of an equipment pad made from a composite material is found in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,449, entitled "Lightweight Concrete Cladded Heavy Equipment Base." One of the preferred embodiments of this invention comprises a polystyrene foam core covered on five sides with a fiberglass and cement composition. The resultant pad is only 1/8th to 1/16th the weight of an ordinary concrete pad, but has sufficient load strength to function as a heavy equipment pad. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,449 is incorporated hereto by reference.
Similarly, commonly owned application Ser. No. 08/416,198, entitled "Light-Weight High-Strength Composite Pad and Method of Making Same" (attached hereto as Appendix A), discloses a composite pad having a reinforced core comprising a rigid board and at least one reinforcing coating on one or more sides of the board. The reinforcing coating comprises a foamable material with a fibrous fabric bonded thereto. At least one layer of a slurry mixture then covers the reinforcing coating. A pad made according to this invention pad can support over 325 pounds per square inch of concentrated load and has over 400 pounds in flexural strength. The composite pad, however, weighs only 1/12th of its solid concrete counterpart.
Pallet Art
Also well known in the art is the use of pallets and other types of platforms to transport equipment and other heavy objects. The pallets are used to secure and protect the equipment or other object during transport. A pallet is generally designed so as to provide room for the tines of a forklift or other device to lift and maneuver the pallet and the equipment to the appropriate location. After the equipment is maneuvered into place, the pallet is often discarded.
For example, wooden pallets have long been used to transport air conditioning condensers and other types of equipment to a construction site. Wooden pallets, however, are relatively expensive to manufacture and have a limited useful lifetime.
Recent improvements in the art have included plastic pallets and the use of other types of synthetic materials. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,792, entitled "Pallet Construction" discloses a two piece pallet made from molded plastic. The top piece is a corrugated deck with several downwardly descending support pads. The second piece is a base with several upwardly extending pads. Each set of pads has a locking mechanism. The space between the pads provides clearance space for the tines of a forklift. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,976, entitled "Plastic Pallet;" U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,338, entitled "Pallet;" and U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,173, entitled "Plastic Pallet" all disclose two piece thermoformed plastic pallets. Both upper and lower pieces are identical with support columns holding the two pieces together.
Although the use of both pads and pallets is well known in the art, there is a need for an improved equipment base that can carry out the functions of both a pallet and a pad. Such an equipment base would first and foremost serve as an adequate pad for the installation of equipment and comply with all applicable building codes. Such an equipment base also could function as a pallet to secure equipment during transport and provide room for the insertion of forklift tines. Such a combination would eliminate the need for a separate transport pallet and speed the installation time of the equipment at the construction site.